O’Reilly Challenges Rick Santorum On Opposition To Birth Control

Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly challenged Rick Santorum on his opposition to contraception last night, noting that the former senator’s claim that states have the right to outlaw birth control is extreme and out-of-touch with the beliefs of most Americans. Santorum responded that while he disagrees with the use of birth control, he would not necessarily advocate for its repeal:

O’REILLY: You say that the states should have the right to ban some contraception. That’s right off the bat going to be a big one.

SANTORUM: Well, the states have a right to do a lot of things. That doesn’t mean they should do it. Someone asked me if the states have the right to do it? Yes. They have the right to do it, they shouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t vote for it if they did. It doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to do it. As you know, Bill, you’re a Catholic, Catholic Church teaches contraceptive is something you shouldn’t do. So when I was asked the question on contraception I said I didn’t support it.

Santorum is trying to distinguish his religious beliefs from his governing philosophy to suggest to moderate voters that while he personally opposes contraception, he would do little to limit women’s access to it. But that’s not entirely honest and here is why: Santorum does disagree with the Supreme Court’s 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut ruling (which struck down a law that criminalized the use of contraceptives by married couples) and believes that the question should be left to the states. At the same time, however, he has also pledged to defund federal funding for contraception if elected president and publicly address the “dangers of contraception in this country.” “It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be,” the former Pennsylvania senator explained during one interview in Iowa. In other words, Santorum would not sit on his religiously-inspired anti-contraception beliefs — he would work to move federal policies and public beliefs against it.